E there's up about 30% since Aug. 19, and it's now trading just below the $2,500 resistance that's held for the past month. That rally has brought with it a spike in leveraged bets: funding rates on Binance hit their highest point in a year. And Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine, is flagging a bullish setup on the chart.
The run to $2,500
Ethereum's latest leg started last Wednesday. The coin has been making higher lows and higher highs, and it's now knocking on a level that traders have watched since the market turned lower earlier this month. The $2,500 mark is the obvious test – the last real barrier before a stretch of open air above it. So far it hasn't cleared, but it's not showing signs of retreat either.
What the funding rate says
On Binance, funding rates have reached the highest level in a year. Funding rates are the small payments traders make to keep their perpetual futures contracts in line with spot prices. When they're high, it means the long side is paying the short side – a sign that leveraged traders are betting hard on more upside. That kind of positioning can accelerate a rally, but it also makes the market more sensitive to a sudden flip. A sharp drop in price can trigger a cascade of forced liquidations.
Tom Lee's read
Tom Lee, the Bitmine chairman, has been looking at Ethereum's chart and says the setup looks bullish. He didn't give a specific target or a timeline, but the fact that he's talking about the coin's chart pattern is notable – Lee is one of the few high-profile names in crypto to have been consistently bullish through the recent pullbacks. His view adds to a growing list of analysts who think the coin has room to run, even if the funding rate is starting to flash a warning.
Next test: the $2,500 line
For now, everything comes down to that $2,500 resistance. If Ethereum clears it and holds, the path higher could open up. If it fails again, the same funding-rate buildup that's pushing prices up could just as easily turn into a painful squeeze. Either way, the next few sessions should make it clear which way the market is leaning.
